Comparative evaluation of color change induced by over-the-counter whitening pens

Objective: This study aimed to assess and compare the short-term whitening performance of three over-the-counter (OTC) whitening pens and one home bleaching agent on extracted human teeth using spectrophotometric color evaluation.Materials and Methods: Sixty maxillary incisors were randomly distributed into five groups (n = 12 each): three OTC whitening pens (iSmile, SDI Pola Luminate, CleverCool), one home bleaching gel (SDI Polanight), and a control group. Whitening protocols were applied according to manufacturers’ directions for seven consecutive days. Tooth color was recorded at baseline (T0), after 7 days of treatment (T7), and at day 14 (T14) using a spectrophotometer. Color change (ΔE) was calculated through the CIELab system. Statistical analysis was performed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc tests (α = 0.05).Results: All experimental groups presented significantly greater ΔE values compared with the control (p < 0.001). The iSmile pen produced the most noticeable change at both T7 and T14. SDI Polanight achieved similar but slightly lower whitening, while Pola Luminate and CleverCool provided moderate improvements with no significant difference between them.Conclusion: OTC whitening pens are capable of delivering visible short-term whitening effects, although their effectiveness varies across products. A higher peroxide concentration was associated with a more pronounced bleaching outcome.